"Kitchen Sink" Carrot Cake

star rating (25) rate this recipe »
Recipe photo
Hands-on time:
Baking time:
Total time:
Yield: 9" x 13" sheet cake, about 24 servings.
Recipe photo

Kitchen sink carrot cake? That's right; as in "everything but the..." While purists may argue over exactly what, beside carrots, is "allowed" in carrot cake, we throw all caution to the winds with … More »

"Kitchen Sink" Carrot Cake

star rating (25) rate this recipe »
Hands-on time:
Baking time:
Total time:
Yield: 9" x 13" sheet cake, about 24 servings.
Published: 03/07/2010

Ingredients

Cake

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup melted butter
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • 3 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
  • 1 cup diced pecans or walnuts, toasted if desired
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (preferred) or sweetened coconut
  • 1/2 cup diced dried pineapple*
  • *Substitute one 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry, if preferred

Frosting

  • 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make frosting spreadable

Directions

see this recipe's blog »

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

2) Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl till smooth, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed.

3) Mix the melted butter with the oil. With the beater running, add the oil mixture in a stream, beating till smooth.

4) In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, leaveners, salt, and spices. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to make a smooth batter.

5) Stir in the carrots, nuts, coconut, and pineapple.

6) Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges.

7) Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

8) Remove the cake from the oven, and cool right in the pan.

9) When it's completely cool, make the frosting.

10) Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and beat together until light and fluffy.

11) Add the sugar gradually, beating well.

12) Add the milk a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.

13) Spread frosting over the cake. Garnish with minced crystallized ginger, if desired.

Yield: 9" x 13" sheet cake, about 24 servings.

Reviews

1 23  All  
  • star rating 02/04/2012
  • skchikuma from KAF Community
  • Finally I made carrot cake that did not fall, and I am at 5000 ft! I did add 2 tbsp flour and cut the baking soda in half. I?d been using my aunt?s recipe which fell in the oven every time. But this cake had no sink at all, and turned out sooo delicious. I used canned pineapple, 1/3 c dried cherries instead of coconut but next time I?ll double that. To the frosting added 1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia, and used 1 tbs of the pineapple juice/balance cream I had on hand. Can?t wait to try the dried pineapple next time. I refrigerated the cake and it sliced beautifully this morning, had a piece for breakfast, yummmy! Thanks KA for yet another keeper, I love you and my family loves you!!!
    It sounds like you did everything right for success at high altitude! Great Work! ~Amy
  • star rating 11/24/2011
  • BlondoFondo from KAF Community
  • The added fixings make this cake amazing. I used raisins instead of coconut (I highly recomend it) and 1 cup of diced pineapple. The mixture was plenty enough to make a three layer cake. Word of caution: line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. The raisins/pineapple will stick to the bottom of the pan and make it impossible to flip the cake out =/ But I will make this cake again! It is incredibly moist and smells amazing. I was unsure how many carrots to buy for shredding, but a 16oz bag of carrots was enough.
  • star rating 08/04/2011
  • atfitz from KAF Community
  • I hate to simply join an already full chorus but I had to say, that was the best carrot cake EVER! I took it to a party and a 65 year old woman and a 91 year old woman both told me it was the best cake they had every had. Wow! All total, that is a LOT of cake years! I made it as two 9 inch rounds with the frosting in between and the cake layers were thick (but good). I am thinking I could make it a three layer cake. Wouldn't that be pretty?! I followed advice and used 1 and 1/2 the frosting recipe and substituted fiora di sicilia for the vanilla. Outstanding! The cake is going with me this weekend to another birthday party. Good thing I have lots of friends with lots of birthdays!
    Wow! The amount of cake eating years is more impressive, if you ask me! A 3 layer cake would be wonderful and I always use the fiori in my CC icing. No one knows why it tastes so wonderful! Elisabeth
  • star rating 05/19/2011
  • Hassondi from KAF Community
  • Since carrot cake is my husband's favorite, I have made quite a few in our forty plus years of marriage. This recipe is excellent. I added a handful of golden raisins and lessened the sugar in the frosting not only because of my family's preference but also because we like the contrasting cream cheese and cake flavors which you don't get if they both are sweet. I put KAF decorative carrots on the top and served with homemade ginger ice cream to a highly appreciative family.
  • star rating 03/02/2011
  • edesilva from KAF Community
  • I love carrot cake, and this one lived up to expectations. It seems odd to me that it doesn't have raisins in it, but since my wife hates raisins...
  • star rating 12/26/2010
  • Jenny from Texas
  • I agree with Beth from MD that the Nancy Silverton cake is better. It's my go to. FYI Beth...the recipe can be found at http://community.tasteofhome.com/forums/p/274168/3531899.aspx. The KAF recipe is solid, but needed a little more kick. I like Silverton's recipe because it's like a carrot/spice cake.
  • star rating 12/12/2010
  • bettyd221 from KAF Community
  • This is a keeper!!! I made it a two layer 8" cake and served it at my granddaughter's birthday and everybody thought it was fantastic. The texture, the flavor, the moistness....everything was perfect. Thank you so much for this recipe.
  • star rating 11/15/2010
  • Beth from MD
  • I've made many carrot cakes in my time, and although this is very good (and the icing is excellent with the addition of the fiori di sicilia), it seems to be on the "blah" side. I used drained crushed pineapple, nuts and coconut. I regret now that I didn't add raisins - they might have perked it up a bit. I actually like the carrot cake recipe in the "Baker's Companion" book better. The people I served it to all exclaimed how wonderful it was, but it just left me cold. Oh well. It certainly is easy to make. I wish I could find Nancy Silverton's old recipe for carrot cake that she made for the California Raisins Board a number of years ago. That one was great.
  • star rating 11/01/2010
  • TrojanInOz from KAF Community
  • WOW! I made some changes after reading all the fabulous suggestions - I substituted candied ginger for the pineapple, and macadamia nuts for the pecans. Super rich, super moist, and so much flavor! The frosting was beautiful - I added a bit of Fiori de Sicilia (seriously, it's my new favorite "secret" ingredient) after reading another comment, and that made the frosting. Honestly, I'm not a carrot cake fan, and I wanted another piece! I made this in a slightly smaller pan, and made cupcakes with the rest of the batter because the cake was only for a few people. I should have doubled the frosting because I served the cake out of the pan, and needed extra for the sides. YUM! To all of my fellow bakers out there, I want you to know that I love your suggestions, and I read all of them before I start a recipe! Thanks so much for your great ideas!
  • star rating 10/24/2010
  • ~RED~ from KAF Community
  • The best carrot cake i have ever had/made. The moistest/most flavorful. Thank you!!!
1 23  All